kalaratri
time’s endless night
destroys all those she makes
her acolytes
we build honeycombs in carrion
not even ravens will scavenge
we sleep in cities where birds refuse to roost
back alleys where the concrete wind
blows one implacable song
then collapses
in refuse we find refuge
what was cast off we repurpose
to make it new
my sweet everything
this continent belongs to you
by virtue of your villainy
you own it because it cannot escape you
nor restrain you
your power here is absolute
the essence of impermanence and solitude
embracing all and drawing them
to your breast
suckle your disciple
so i might outlive gods
and kings and treachery
outlive words and paper and the
bonfires where they will be burned
and then
forgotten
This poem appears in the collection Inner Planets: 50 Poems by Matthew Howard. Available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook.
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